For this week’s artist conversation, the class and I had the pleasure to see some of Nick Bamford’s art. Nick Bamford is currently a senior here at CSULB, and is going to graduate majoring in Ceramics this semester. Nick Bamford was born and raised in Huntington Beach where he first discovered his passion for the arts. When he was in high school, he took a ceramics art class and he immediatly fell in love with it, which is why he decided to choose this career.

His art exhibit includes three glowing structures that are presented in a black light setting. This exhibit is like nothing we have seen in these past weeks. The blacklight and led light combination added an element of suspense and mystique which is what really made this exhibition stick out. There are many colors in multiple angles and multiple lights. The black light brought out some interesting exotic colors which were neon. His imagination shined through in each piece. Honestly, I did not know how did he get shopping cart to stay up in the air balanced with only strings and sticks.

Artist Nick Bamford explains that his sculpture pieces are actually not random. He was explaining how he picked his art, which was a reflection of his past experiences and the way he views himself. I believe that Bamford wanted to inspire his audience to look at our everyday lives at more than face value. To some, his work may just be a bunch of random things piled on top of one another and called art but Bamford is the person who spent the time thinking and putting together his vision. Towards the end of the interview he states that Art Is Life, and that Art is what he is.

I personally enjoyed viewing Nick’s artwork. At first when I went inside I thought it was going to be weird but when I got closer I thought it was very interesting. His artwork is very unique in such a way that I would never see an art piece like this ever again. His exhibition gave off a mood of excitement and awe. This experience has inspired me to continue to live outside of the box and embrace those qualities about myself.